Two former Minnesota Vikings listed among top NFL safeties of all time

Former Minnesota Vikings Joey Browner and Paul Krause were included on an NFL.com list of the best safeties ever to play in the National Football League.

When people discuss the best safeties currently in the NFL, the name Harrison Smith should enter the conversation. However, when talking about the all-time greats ever to play the position, the Minnesota Vikings are still well represented.

Recently, Gil Brandt, the senior analyst for NFL media at NFL.com, released his list of the top 31 safeties ever, and among those individuals were two players who spent time playing professional football in Minnesota.

Those two players included on the countdown were Paul Krause and Joey Browner. Both left a lasting impact on the Vikings franchise as well as a great impression on the NFL.

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The first of the two Minnesota safeties on Brandt’s countdown is Joey Browner at number 22. Browner had a background in basketball and track and field before focusing on football and becoming a first round pick of the Vikings in 1983. He stayed with the team through the 1991 season, but finished his career with one season in Tampa Bay. He was known as a solid tackler with a nose for the football and landed in the Minnesota Ring of Honor. Here are the accomplishments Brandt has listed for Browner:

• Voted to six Pro Bowls, First Team All-Pro three times
• 37 career interceptions

The final Vikings safety appears at number 16. Paul Krause was a second round draft pick of the Washington Redskins in 1964. Traded to Minnesota for linebacker Marlin McKeever and a seventh-round draft pick in 1968, he went on to be a nine time All Pro and be part of the 1969 NFL Championship team. Here are the achievements listed for Krause by Brandt:

• Voted to eight Pro Bowls, First Team All-Pro three times
• 81 career interceptions
• Enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Next: Harrison Smith and Paul Krause on sharing the #22

Congratulations to former Minnesota Vikings Joey Browner and Paul Krause for being listed among the best safeties ever to play in the NFL. And, of course, major kudos go out to Gil Brandt of NFL.com for recognizing their talent.